LRAD Corp. Receives $490,000 Award From Foreign Customer

Electronics maker LRAD Corp. said on April 14 that it received an award worth slightly less than a half-million dollars from a coast guard agency in an unspecified country in Southeast Asia. It is a repeat customer.

LRAD (Nasdaq: LRAD) makes electronics similar to loudspeakers. Its acoustic hailing devices can send very loud, highly directional sound over very long distances.

LRAD is selling an order of model 1000Xi systems and accessories for $490,000. The company says the 1000Xi is a rugged, all-weather model that can deliver highly intelligible communication over 3 kilometers, or 1.86 miles. Critics have labeled the devices “sound cannons,” but LRAD says that in certain situations, the hailing devices can save lives on both sides of a conflict.

“Many nations are experiencing escalating territorial water incursions and homeland security threats,” company CEO Tom Brown said in a statement issued April 14. “LRAD’s attention-commanding warning tones and voice broadcasts determine the intent of boats not responding to radio calls, establish large standoff zones around coast guard vessels, and provide enhanced communication during coastal defense operations. LRAD systems ensure commands and instructions in any language are clearly delivered, heard and understood over wind, engine and background noise.”

The company said it will deliver the equipment later in the fiscal year, which closes in September.

LRAD is a company in transition. It announced in March that Brown will be leaving the CEO’s job and his board seat later this year. Brown has led the company for almost 10 years.